Railroad-track lifter



(No Model.) 7

H. 1). BROWN. RAILROAD TRACK LIFTER.

Payented Mar. 31,1891.

oooooo oo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HIRAM DAVID BROlVN, OF HUBBARD, TEXAS.

RAILROAD-TRACK LIFTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 449,308, dated March 31, 1891.

Application filed December 27, 1890- serial No. 376,000. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it .may concern:

Be it known that I, HIRAM DAVID BROWN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hubbard, in the county of Hill and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Railroad-TrackLifters,which I have fully described in the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof, and in which i I Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved track-lifter. Fig. 2 represents a modified and enlarged form of my invention, which may be used to raise cars or like heavy objects.

The object of my invention is to providea device for easily raising sections of railwaytrack for the purpose of leveling the same, and which also may be employed to raise car if desired; and my invention consists in the combination and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, in which the same letters always represent the same parts, a represents the base, which may be any suitable metalplate of size sufficient to give bearing to the lever and its load. I) b are uprights secured fast to said base in any suitable manner and provided with a vertical series of correspond ing holes to receive a fulcrum-pin for the lever, and with a series of notches on one or both of their fronts-that is, that which faces toward the operator, or that also which faces from him.

e is a lever with a bend in it at or near its fulcrum-point to an angle of thirty to forty degrees from a right line, as shown. The short arm of this lever is tapered to a point, so as to take readily under the tie or other objects to be lifted. The lever is perforated with a series of holes constituting changeable fulcrum-points, in either of which the fulcrum-pin may be adjusted to vary at will the leverage. This lever is inserted between the uprights Z) I) and adjusted to the desired height or leverage by passing a fulcrum pin or bolt through one of the series of holes in the uprights b b and in the lever. This construction may be modified by using a single upright 17 and mortising a long slat in widened fulcrum part of the lever and adjusting the lever over and upon the upright. When two uprights b are used, they may be secured to each other at the top by any suitable bolt.

h in Figs. 1 and 2 is a catch or pawl bifurcated at one end and having eyes for a pivotbolt formed upon the ends of its bifurcated part, whereby it may be pivoted to the lever in any one of the series of holes in the latter. To this pawl or catch is pivoted an operatingrod g, which extends back along the lever to the handle thereof and is there jointed to a finger-lever 70, as shown. To further steady the uprights and secure the ties upon the point of the lever,-l may employ a rod Z, formed at one end with a hook to take under the rail or its head and at its other end secured by a pivot in either of the holes in the uprights.

A modified form of my device is shown in Fig. 2, Where in lieu of the series of holes in the uprights and in the lever I may employ two downward pointing parts or catches, engaging with notches on both fronts of the uprights. Each of these pawls has its rod g and finger-lever. By means of this construction by raising and depressing the lever the fulcrum can be progressively walked up the uprights, raising the object to be lifted to any height desired. In one movement one of the pawls or catches becomes the fulcrum and in the other movement the other pawl becomes the fulcrum. By working the lever up and down the Working-fulcrum may be brought to any desired elevation, and either pawl may become such working-fulcrum by entirely disengaging the other.

hat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with the base and the upright, of the pointed lever having variable fulcrum-points and adj ustably mounted upon the upright, the pawl pivoted upon the lever and engaging notches of the upright, and hand mechanism for the operation of the pawl extending to the hand portion of the lever, as set forth. I

2. The combination of the base, the upright, the lever, and the two pawls engaging notches of the upright, as set forth.

3. The combination of the base, the upright, the lever, the two pawls, and hand meoh- I In witness whereof I have hereunto set my anism for operating the pawls, as set forth. hand this 24th day of June, A. D. 1890.

4. The combination of the base, the upn T right, the lever adj ustably mounted upon the HIRAM DAVID BROVVL' 5 upright, the two pawls, and mechanism for Witnesses:

operating the pawls, extending back to the 4 S. R. BOYD, hand portion of the lever, as set forth. E. W. BOUNDS. 

